Doki Doki Literature Club: The Aftermath

by the guy in your attic

(Spoilers) The nightmare was over. Monika was gone and the game was reset. However, her many changes to the files remained. Sayori's crippling depression. Natsuki's malnourishment. Yuri's building obsession. It was all still there. Though now that the cause of it was gone, Aaron figured that nothing more than a little time was enough to give his friends the peace they deserved.

9. Torn Pages

"Would you please stop? I'm trying to read!" Yuri shouted in annoyance as she swatted the hand away, only to then giggle as she felt it crawl its way back, its fingers gently tickling her as it slid slowly, smoothly down her leg. "Aaron, enough!" She shouted again, her palm colliding with the top of Aaron's hand, slapping it lightly, him chuckling a little as he finally pulled it away. "There's a time and place for that, Love. Sadly, this is neither of those" Yuri added as she looked at him, a small smile on her face, her simply rolling her eyes at her love's playfulness. "Now, can we please focus on our reading?"

"You're no fun sometimes, you know that?" Aaron asked, chuckling lightly as he and Yuri sat together in the club room, their desks pushed together as the opened book laid in the center, the two continuing their reading from where they last left off.

Well, they were supposed to be continuing… Yuri sighing in slight irritation, due to only getting through two pages of the book this session, Aaron's wandering hands distracting her, causing her to lose her concentration. While yes, she had already read the book cover to cover multiple times, now able to recite most of the key events off the top of her head, she was still being disturbed, something that would annoy anyone, regardless of what they were doing.

Though… She thought it was rather cute, the way Aaron's hand seemed to naturally wander over to her, resting itself on her thigh, gently massaging back and forth. Up and down, the occasional giggle escaping her.

"I said enough!" Yuri shouted again, a small laugh escaping her as she shooed Aaron's hand away for a third time. "You do that again, and you can kiss our reading time goodbye, mister!" She threatened playfully, Aaron's brows jumping up at that.

"You wouldn't dare" He grinned as he leaned closer to her.

"Try me" She said, matching his grin with one of her own as she leaned closer to him.

"Okay, okay. So, you don't like it when I touch you. But… do you like it when I do this?" He asked as he brought his hand to her chin, gently holding her head in place as he brought his lips to hers, the two sharing a small kiss in the middle of the club room, Yuri blushing faintly as she pulled away.

"You little sneak! You set me up for that!" She said, smiling lightly as she pointed her finger at him. "I shouldn't have done that. It's not good of me to reward such… bad behavior" She stated, the tone of her voice turning quiet yet deep, sensuous, seductive as her small smile turned back into a playful grin. "And in the middle of the club room too! Why, imagine what would happen if someone were to waltz in on us. This is supposed to be our little secret, remember? A secret you're not doing a very good job of keeping"

"Well, it's not like anybody actually saw us. The club room is empty. Just you and me" Aaron stated, looking around to confirm that the club room was indeed empty, him and Yuri being the only two people inside, arriving much earlier than everyone else, Yuri simply rolling her eyes as she stood up from her desk, moving over to the window. "But hey, if you wanna go somewhere more private, I know a few places that are close by. Out of sight. And… We've got time before the others get here. We could be there and back before they even come in" Aaron stated as he approached Yuri from behind, his hands on her waist, holding her as he felt her relax and fall back into his chest, leaning against him as she gazed out the window.

"Oh really?" She expressed intrigue. "Tell me of your secret little places"

"Well… we could go under the seats by the track field. Most of the sports clubs just hang out in the gym, so nobody would bother us. There's also the auditorium, nobody ever goes there. And of course, if you wanna be cliché, we could just hide in the janitor's closet" Aaron stated, Yuri giggling lightly at that.

"Hmm… That last one doesn't sound too appealing. I hate clichés. But those other two… Keep talking. What would we do in these little havens of yours?"

"Oh… nothing big. Maybe some kisses? A little bit of snuggling? Cuddling? An 'I love you' or two in between? Then, after we have our fun, we come back, wait out the rest of the day and… meet up somewhere?"

"Aaron!" Yuri gasped. "When did you become such a naughty boy?" She asked as a teasing look came onto on her face.

"H-Hey! Not that kinda meet up!" Aaron stated with a nervous smile. "I was thinking more along the lines of just spending the rest of the day together. Like, I dunno, walking in a park or around town? Something like that. Maybe I could take you out somewhere? A movie? A bookstore maybe? You know, just the two of us on a regular date" He explained, Yuri smiling softly as she turned to face him, placing a soft kiss on his lips, feeling him grab and grip her gently before returning her kiss with one of his own, Yuri smiling through the kiss as she felt Aaron pull her closer.

"That sounds delightful, Love. Utterly delightful" She said after pulling away, still smiling.

"Great" Aaron said, relief in his voice. "So um… do you wanna step away for a little while? You know, take a break from our reading? I think the book can wait for a few minutes" He stated, a sly grin coming to his face.

"Oh Love, the book can wait for more than just a few minutes…"

"More than a few minutes for what?" A voice asked from behind, Aaron and Yuri jumping in shock as they heard it, immediately pushing each other away before turning their heads towards the door, Natsuki standing in the middle of it with her hands on her hips, a small pout on her face, per the norm.

"N-Natsuki!" Yuri said in surprise, a bead of nervous sweat on her brow as she announced the girl's arrival.

"Hi to you too" She said, her tone slightly irritated. Again, per the norm. "You guys are here early. Class literally just got out. It's like you two dashed in here the moment the bell rang" She added after shutting the classroom door, now moving deeper into the club. "I mean, Yuri's usually the first one in here, no surprise there. But you, Aaron? The only one later than you is Sayori"

"Well, yeah… I just… I felt like coming in early today. No real reason" Aaron stated, Natsuki glancing his way, a questioning look on her face before dismissing him, her hand waving in the air as she did so before making her way to the storage closet, pulling out one of her manga. Parfait Girls, issue number eight.

"So, what were you two doing?" Natsuki asked.

"T-Talking!"

"Reading books!"

Yuri and Aaron said simultaneously, looking at each other nervously when they realized they said two completely different things, Natsuki looking at them oddly, finding their behavior to be very different from how they normally acted. Too different.

"Well… We st-stared reading books…" Yuri stated, stammering slightly. "Well, I tried to anyway" She added, a small glare flashing Aaron's way, him responding with a guilty, nervous smile. "B-But it soon changed from reading books to… um… talking about them! Yes, that's it!" She claimed, making up a story on the spot. "Yes! We were talking about books and writing in general. Discussing our favorite authors, written works, tropes, clichés and everything. Aaron even stated that he wants to write a book himself!" She went on, taking it a step to far when she lied about Aaron wanting to write a book, her hands covering her mouth after actually hearing what she said, Aaron glaring at her.

"A book? Seriously?" He whispered quietly, knowing that to be a horrible lie to tell in a club focused on literature, especially with a president that expressed a desire for her members to share their written works.

"I'm sorry. That… That just came out" Yuri whispered back.

"Oh… Cool! What's your book about?" Natsuki asked, an uncharacteristically positive response to hearing such a thing.

"It's a…" Aaron dragged on, trying to think of a genre he could see himself wanting to write a book about. "…A fantasy book! Yeah! A fantasy story about… a hero! And stuff…" Aaron made up, Yuri rolling her eyes at that, expressing distaste in that particular genre, despite knowing that Aaron had no intention of writing such a book.

"Oh, leave him alone!" Natsuki shouted as she saw Yuri's look. "If he wants to write some dumb fantasy epic, then fine. I mean, yeah, It'll probably be a steaming pile of crap, but still! Let him write his own stuff the way he wants. God, you really need to be more accepting of other peoples tastes" She scolded, Yuri taken aback by that, slightly offended.

"I need to be more accepting of other peoples tastes? This coming from the girl who chastises me for reading books that have too many big words. Hypocrite" Yuri scoffed under her breath, glaring slightly as she watched Natsuki sit at one of the desks, opening up her manga and beginning to read it, as if it were actual literature, which to Yuri, it was not.

"Bad day?" Aaron asked as he walked up to Natsuki, her looking up from her manga to see him in front of her desk, concern on his face.

"Not as bad the other days but… not good either. I'll be okay" Natsuki dismissed.

"It didn't… It didn't happen again, did it?"

"I don't wanna talk about it…" She stated as she pulled her manga up, hiding her face behind it.

"That's okay. You don't have to if you don't want to. If you need anything, you let me know though" Aaron stated, Natsuki looking up at him for a minute, seeing the small, soft yet friendly smile on his face.

"Yeah. Whatever" She dismissed as she waved her hand again, Aaron rolling his eyes as he turned around, only for Natsuki to suddenly grip his hand by the wrist, Aaron looking back down at her, finding a small glare on her face "You tell either of them about it and I'll kick your ass! Got it?" She whispered, her voice in a low hiss as she threatened Aaron.

"Alright! Alright! Jeez…" He said with a sigh as Natsuki released her grip, him huffing slightly as he held his wrist, Natsuki's grip being rather strong. Stronger than Aaron initially expected from someone so… small.

He didn't really hold her threat of violence against her. In fact, he actually thought it was an idle one, thinking she only did it as a way to show her teeth. There was no way she'd actually try to beat up Aaron. She may be easily angered and irritated, but she's far from violent. It was an idle threat. Nothing more.

He could actually understand why Natsuki did it. She's… well, she's scared. Scared of how Sayori and Yuri would react were they to hear about her… problems at home. Scared of how they'd treat her. Scared of whether they'd look down on her for allowing herself to become a victim… or pity her because she was one.

Though irrational, Aaron could understand that fear. Empathize with it. Even if he didn't, he still wouldn't tell the others out of respect for his fellow member. It was her problem. Her business. And if anyone was going to tell anybody about it, it would be her and only her. Aaron had no business gossiping about another person's problems and hardships like a common schoolgirl.

"Is something wrong?" Yuri asked as she walked up to Aaron, having seen what Natsuki did.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it" Aaron dismissed. "So, back to reading?" He asked, Yuri sighing quietly as she nodded her head once, slightly disappointed that she and Aaron would no longer be able to sneak away for their little private time.

Were they to even think of trying now, Natsuki would immediately catch them. Maybe she wouldn't make a big deal of it and maybe she wouldn't question it. Maybe she'd just raise her shoulders and tilt her head, brushing it off. But after what happened during the festival… the action alone would say too much. Give Natsuki the confirmation to a question Yuri didn't want answered.

Don't get her wrong, Yuri loves her club and everyone in it and isn't keeping her relationship a secret for malicious reasons. She just… She just doesn't know if they're ready yet. Doesn't know if they'd be able to handle or even tolerate the fact that two of their members were in a relationship. Doesn't know if they'd understand or accept the love in it. Yuri just wasn't comfortable with letting them know about it. Didn't feel safe about Sayori or Natsuki being in the loop yet, more fearful of Sayori knowing rather than Natsuki.

With her, all Yuri would have to face was teasing, sarcasm and the other various acts of immaturity Natsuki often displayed, all of them now being geared towards her relationship. Not so much a problem, rather an annoyance. But Sayori… That was something different. Yuri was… she was scared. Afraid. Afraid of Sayori. Afraid of how she'd react. What she'd say… and what she'd do once she learned about it.

Yuri didn't know why she was so fearful of her president. One of her closest and only real friends. She just… the tension. The anger. she felt it immediately once Sayori walked in on their first kiss. Felt it so strongly that she was literally unable to speak at that moment. Could do nothing but look at the floor and walk away, too fearful of the the idea of confrontation to do anything else.

She didn't know if this fear was genuine. If Sayori really did hold this animosity, or if it was simply Yuri's timidness getting the best of her, misconstruing her thoughts and decisions. Still though, a little caution never hurts. It's always good to be just a little skeptical. Just a little doubtful. It wasn't as if Yuri was going to keep this secret forever. She just wanted to scope out the situation first.

Just wanted to make sure Sayori and Natsuki were ready and willing to accept the way things are now, as well as insure that they'd deal with it accordingly, recognizing Yuri and Aaron's bond, respecting it, but also understanding that it doesn't change the way they should be viewed within the club. Doesn't change the fact that they were still fully dedicated to the club and its members.

No, she's not going to use the club as a little romantic get together spot with Aaron. No, she is not going to put her relationship before her duties as Vice President. And no, she is not sectioning out a corner of the room, which would be used solely for her and Aaron to make out!

Though that last one does sound rather nice…. The corner to the rightmost side of the room is rather cozy. Add a little floor mat, some throw pillows and a curtain or two for privacy… N-No! No, that is not happening!

"Um, Yuri? You still there?" Aaron asked, snapping his fingers in front of her, Yuri snapping out of her trance, leaving behind her thoughts and returning to the real world.

"Uh… Yes. Sorry, I was thinking about something" She stated. "What were we talking about? Oh, the reading? Yes, we should get back to that…" She said, Aaron and her returning back to their desks, taking their seats as they picked up where they left off. "And keep your hands to yourself this time, please" Yuri added, Aaron chuckling lightly, a grin on his face as they returned to their desks, the both of them sitting down as they read together silently, their eyes scanning the pages from top to bottom, reading the words in their minds before turning the page.

The entire time they read though, Aaron chanced glances at Yuri, his eyes looking away from the pages for a fraction of a second, only to see Yuri sighing, her head held up by her arms, a bored, uninterested look on her face, as if she had suddenly lost interest in reading, something very uncommon for a bookworm like her. Downright unheard of actually.

Even though she's probably read this book and many others various times, Aaron never knew her to be so… disinterested and disconnected as she was right now, to the point where her eyes stopped following the paragraphs. Just stood idle on this one, single sentence in the book, barely moving. Barely blinking either, like Yuri's mind had just disconnected itself from her body, leaving it dormant.

"Hey! Hey, literature club! Guess who's back!" Sayori exclaimed loudly as she entered the room, practically kicking in the door, a bright, beaming smile on her face. "As if you actually had to guess. It's just little ol' me! Sorry for being the last one in, by the way. Class was… not very fun" She added, her large smile fading for a second as her head sank down, only to pick itself right back up, Sayori's smile instantly reinvigorated. "But hey, classes are over now! So we don't have to worry about that!" She stated, her tone sounding rather joyful.

A small smile came to Aaron's face as he saw that, him always happy to see Sayori in a good mood, especially after the talk the two of them had last night.

Back there, Aaron thought he really hurt her with what he said. It wasn't that he said anything wrong or untrue. It was just… the way Sayori responded to what he said. How she acted. The way her voice sounded and how at some times, she refused to look his way.

It made Aaron feel like he had put Sayori through great pain, especially after he fell asleep during the marathon, only to find Sayori gone without so much as a note, text or call in the morning. And the walk to school… well, she wasn't there for that today. Was nowhere to be found, Aaron having no choice but to walk without her, lest he be late for his own classes.

But seeing Sayori today. Seeing the bundle of sunshine out and about in full force… it brought a smile to Aaron's face. Drove away the worry and set his mind at ease. She's fine. Nothing's wrong. Everything is okay and everyone is okay.

"Nope! No more classes! No more bitter, old teachers. No more mean, hateful classmates. No more annoying papers and pencils. Just us! Us and our club!" Sayori continued, seemingly overjoyed that classes were over, Aaron thinking that she most likely had a rough day. Regardless of what had happened, he was just glad to see Sayori smile. Glad to hear her loud shouting and exclamations of joy. Just… glad she was back to normal.

"And how is my VP doing today?" She asked as she came behind the desks Aaron and Yuri sat at, Sayori's hands gripping Yuri's shoulders, causing the girl to jump slightly in shock, Sayori's touch snapping her out of whatever trance she'd found herself in, a nervous look on Yuri's face as she looked up at Sayori, only to be greeted with a friendly smile. "We doin' okay over here?" Sayori asked as she looked down at Yuri.

"U-Um… I… Y-Yes! Yes, we're fine. Everything… Everything's fine" Yuri stammered nervously, an uncomfortable, almost fearful look on her face as she turned pale, her body nervously shaking and twitching as Sayori stared her down. "We're ju-just reading" Yuri stated, Sayori looking at her oddly for a second, her smile briefly disappearing as her eyes narrowed, forming a piercing glare, only for Sayori's bright smile to immediately come back, returning before it was missed.

"Is that so?" Sayori asked, the corners of her mouth rising incredibly high, causing her smile to grow wider… disturbingly so, Yuri leaning back slightly in fear, as if to distance herself from the girl as she smiled so wide and hard, you could see almost her entire mouth! Almost all of her teeth!

"Y-Yes. Yes, it is so" Yuri stated, feeling a shiver of dread run its way down her spine as her eyes seemed to lock onto Sayori's, unable to look away. Unable to break contact, Yuri seemingly paralyzed with fear, but for whatever reason, she didn't know as to why.

"Great!" Sayori said with a smile, a much more normal one. Less… demented. "I'll leave you two to it then. Have fun!" She added as she left, making her way to the teachers desk to tend to a stack of papers, most likely related to some form of club business. Either that, or it was just the student council sending in the new 'terms,' which in reality, were just a more official way of saying for 'Here are the new reasons why we can't be bothered to help you with whatever problem your club is having.' Jerks.

"So um, back to reading?" Aaron asked, Yuri turning her head to look at him, shaking it slightly in refusal.

"Can we stop, actually? I think I need to… take a break" She stated, Aaron looking at her oddly, noting the way she paused as she spoke, his hand grabbing hers, holding it gently as their fingers interlocked, Yuri looking at him in confusion.

"You're not gonna…" Aaron assumed.

"What? N-No! Of course not! I'm… I'm done with that. I didn't even bring a knife with me to school today. I know I would be hurting you if I went back to… doing that thing" Yuri stated, her face blushing slightly as she looked down at the floor. "I just feel like I need to take a breather and relax for a little while. I don't know why, but I suddenly feel rather… drained. I just need a few minutes to catch my breath. I won't leave the room. I'll be over there, by the window" She stated as she pulled her hand away from Aaron, standing up from her desk and making her way to one of the club room windows, opening it to allow the fresh air in, breathing deeply as she held her hands behind her back, her eyes gazing out the open window, looking down on the school's courtyard outside.

Aaron could only sigh as he watched her from his desk, his hands holding his head as he felt the pangs of guilt attack him, knowing that all this was related to him.

The tension… you could taste it in the air. Feel it in the room, its presence making said room feel downright unbreathable in. Made the room feel so stuffy. Made the air so thick and hard to breathe. A place that once used to be filled with such happiness and joy, now filled with such… anxiety, so much so, that even an untrained eye, a person oblivious to the literature club and its affairs, could see the tension plain as day.

Everyone may have looked fine at first, but the tension and anxiety was quick to reveal itself as time went on, its presence fully announced the moment Sayori entered the room.

"Hey. What happened your reading time? Got bored already, Aaron?" She asked as she returned to the desk, Aaron jumping a little as he felt her hand grip his shoulder from behind, him turning around and looking up at Sayori, greeted by her beaming smile.

"N-No. We're just taking a break. That's all" Aaron stated as he stood up from his seat, doing a few impromptu stretches in an attempt to get the blood circulating through his body again.

"Oh… Well that's good!" Sayori stated. "A lot of people tend to get so invested in their books that they forget they're supposed to take little breaks in between chapters. You know, take a second or two to rest your eyes and wake your body back up. Glad to see you haven't forgotten though!" She added cheerfully.

"Right…" Aaron responded, the conversation seemingly dying then and there, leaving Sayori and Aaron with nothing to do other than stare at each other awkwardly, neither one of them knowing if walking away was the right thing to do in this moment. "Hey, um… are you okay?" Aaron asked, concern in his voice. "I mean, you just seem a little… off today. Everything alright?"

"Hmm? Yeah, I feel fine! Better than ever, actually! Never have or ever will feel better!" She stated proudly, winning smile and all. "Aww, my peppiness too much for ya?" She asked with a grin, Aaron chuckling at that.

"A little, yeah. I get that the whole sunshine and rainbows thing is… well, your thing. But I gotta admit, you're turning it up a little too high today. It's actually making me nervous" Aaron stated, Sayori's smile falling slightly as she heard that. "It just… it makes me think something's wrong. And… after what happened last night… the things we said to each other and-"

"Pfff! You really need to let that stuff go, Aaron!" Sayori beamed again, her finger waggling back and forth, mimicking the actions of a scolding parent, minus the scolding. "I thought we already cleared this up. You said you wouldn't let… You know who…" Aaron noted the sudden change of tone in Sayori's voice at the mention of Yuri, his head looking over his shoulder briefly to check on her, Sayori silently huffing as the attention was diverted away from her, only for her smile to come right back once Aaron turned around again.

"Huh? Sorry. Just checking something" Aaron apologized. "You were saying?"

"I was saying that you made it very clear when you said she wouldn't get in the way of our friendship and I believe you! Not only that, but I'm happy for you! Happy that you and her have something going. Everything is fine, so please stop worrying!" Sayori urged. "It's the past, okay? Just let it go" She said with a soft smile as she gently gripped Aaron by the shoulder, him sighing slightly at that, a similar looking smile coming onto his face.

"You're right. You're right" He said as he gently pushed it away. "I'm worrying too much. I just… I just want you two to get along. I can practically feel the animosity in the room, Sayori. It's not putting my mind at ease" He stated, Sayori crossing her arms, her face going blank. Deadpanned.

"Well, wherever it's coming from, it's not me" She stated. "Maybe you're just imagining things. Hey! I know what'll make you forget about it! How about I show you this new thing for the club I've been wanting to try out?!" She suggested, Aaron looking at her oddly.

"New thing? What new thing?" He asked.

"Okay. Well, you know how most of us want to share our work, but we're too insecure to actually do that?"

"Yeah…" Aaron said as he nodded. "It's just… We're not very confident in our writing yet" He stated.

"Not only that. It's also because we're all technically newbies when it comes to actually writing stuff! We're all novices, so we're kinda hiding our work until it reaches a point we deem presentable. I've come up with a way to speed up that process! A way to improve our skills, learn some new tricks and hone our craft" Sayori stated.

"That so? And what is this amazing new way of honing our skills, exactly?" Aaron asked, intrigued.

"Why tell you, when I can show you? I've been wanting to do this for awhile now. Sit back! Relax and prepare to be enlightened!"

---

Sayori's Writing Tip Of The Day: Seeking Advice.

Have you ever tried to write a character with a unique quirk, personality, disability, illness or condition, but you don't exactly know how to portray it accurately? Or maybe your story takes place in some exciting, unique location, but you don't really know what that place would look like?

It can be really disheartening for somebody when they try to write about these things, only to end up staring at their blank page, clueless as to how they'd implement them. Some people even get so frustrated by this, that they end up scrapping their ideas before they've even written them down.

It can be really irritating, thinking up this new, interesting character or this special location, only to end up with nothing on the page because you're having trouble portraying it.

Well, that doesn't have to be the end all be all. Maybe you should try taking a break from writing and do some research instead!

Pick up a book about the subject you want to learn more about or talk to someone who may be experienced in said subject. Is it a place nearby? Well, why not pay it a little visit and scope it out?

Of course, you could always use the internet instead. It is supposed to be a wealth of information at your fingertips, after all… despite what you normally see when you go on. You may find what your looking for on some obscure forum or comment section, or you may run into a few fellow writers looking for information on the same thing. You never know.

Point is, learning about certain people, places and conditions is always possible. And the more you learn about them, the more accurately you'll be able to portray them in your stories, making them seem more realistic.

And who knows? Maybe in the future, what you've learned could end up being useful to you or others later.

That's my advice for today. Thanks for listening!

---

"Wow. That's… actually pretty helpful advice. Thanks, Sayori" Aaron said, grateful for the words of wisdom. "So that's your special trick? Giving advice?" He asked, Sayori smiling as she nodded her head.

"Yup! I know it's not very exciting and all… but you gotta admit, it's pretty helpful!" She stated. "And it doesn't have to be just me doing it. How about you? Can we get one of Aaron's writing tips of the day?" She asked, bumping her shoulder into Aaron gently as a means of encouraging him.

"Yeah… No" He denied, a dead serious look on his face as he shook his head.

"Oh… Okay then!" Sayori said, not really bothered by Aaron's lack of participation. "I guess I can't force you to do it. Still though, if you have some advice to share, don't hold back! This is an open forum and everyone's voice matters. Remember that"

"Right… I'm uh, gonna go somewhere else now" Aaron stated as he walked away, an awkward, uncomfortable look on his face as he sat down in a different desk, one much closer to the windows, and by that extension, Yuri, Aaron looking over his shoulder, only to see Sayori remaining in the same spot she was in initially, having not left yet, a small, friendly smile on her face as she waved at him, Aaron awkwardly waving back.

He sighed as he sat down, his arms leaning on the desk as his head drooped slightly, a tired yawn leaving him, no doubt brought on from the fatigue of dealing with school and the club, the latter probably draining much more energy from him than it should have.

Shame Aaron and Yuri were unable to retreat to that little getaway like he wanted, else he might have been able to regain a little bit of his spent energy. Yeah, a nice little nap with his new girlfriend in some secluded area of the school. Sounded much nicer than you thought. He guessed the only thing he could do now was just lay his head on the desk and wait for the bell to ring, giving the signal for all club activities to cease.

He yawned again as he did just that, his head laying down on its side as it rested on the desk, his eyes half open, blinking rapidly in fatigue as he looked towards the windows, seeing Yuri in the middle of them as the rays from the outside sun crept into the room, Yuri's figure casting a shadow on the ground.

He could hear her sighing. Could see her playing with her hair, a telltale sign of nervousness, Aaron picking his head up at that, trying to conjure up the energy to move from his desk and tend to his girlfriend's worries.

"Hey, can we talk?" Yuri jumped back in surprise as she felt a hand grip her shoulder, turning around only to see Natsuki at her back, an alerted and surprised expression on her face, not expecting Yuri's whole body to jerk like that, due to a simple touch. "You okay?" Natsuki asked in concern.

"Wh-What? Y-yes, I'm fine. Don't sneak up on me like that, please" Yuri said as she looked down at Natsuki, breathing deeply in an attempt to recompose herself, her hands going behind her back again, her chest popping out, her back straightening as she regained her posture. "Can I help you with something, Natsuki? Is something wrong?" She asked, Natsuki picking up a small hint of apprehension in her voice, almost as if she was slightly afraid of speaking to the girl.

"No. Nothing's wrong. I just…" Natsuki sighed, gulping audibly before continuing to speak, swallowing her pride, no doubt. "I just wanted to apologize for what I said during the performance a few days ago. I'm… I'm sorry" She apologized, Yuri genuinely taken aback by this, never knowing Natsuki to be apologetic. "You don't hate me. I know that. Yeah, I am a little immature sometimes. And sometimes, I do deserve to get yelled at, especially when I get… moody. And yeah, I can understand why it's hard to take me seriously. I'm sorry for shouting at you like that. I was just… It was a bad day" She stated, her head hanging low as Yuri looked down at her, a small frown on her face as she bent down slightly, reaching Natsuki's level, making eye to eye contact.

"I don't hate you. You're not immature. You are taken seriously and you don't get yelled at. But if you think you do, then I should be the one saying I'm sorry" Yuri stated, a light smile on her face as she looked Natsuki in the eyes, her not exactly believing Yuri's words, figuring that she only said it to make Natsuki feel better. Still though… it felt nice.

"So… friends again?"

"Friends again" Yuri stated as she stood up, turning her attention back to the window, Natsuki smiling as she stood beside Yuri, joining in on her window observations, the two looking out onto the courtyard outside.

"So, since we're friends again…" Natsuki trailed off, Yuri looking at her oddly as she heard her speak. "You gonna give me the details?" Natsuki asked, a wicked grin coming onto her face.

"Excuse me? Details? What details?" Yuri asked, clueless to what Natsuki could possibly mean.

"You know! About you and Lover boy over there! I heard you two talking! Getting all close and intimate!" She giggled, A nervous look coming onto Yuri's face, realizing she'd been caught. "So when you said you would have more than a few minutes to do stuff… you were talking about hooking up, weren't you!?"

"Is this why you apologized to me? So you can get me to gossip about something that isn't even true?" Yuri asked as she turned to face Natsuki, glaring at her, Natsuki backing away slowly at that, realizing her mistake.

"What? N-No! That's not it!" Natsuki said worriedly, showing a behavior Yuri had never seen from her before. A more timid Natsuki. More fearful. Scared, Yuri shocked to see her displaying such emotions. "I-I was just starting a conversation, that's all! You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, you know! It's not like you're obligated to!" She stated, pouting angrily as she turned her back to Yuri, this behavior being more in line with what she was used too, Aaron and Sayori taking notice of their little scene. "You should be though! You can't just keep me and Sayori out of the loop like that! If we were really your friends, you'd let us know right away!"

"Hmph! Fitting that you'd try nosing into my personal life. Something that doesn't affect you, by the way!" Yuri huffed, her arms crossed as she glared at Natsuki. "What's the matter? Your own life isn't exciting enough to keep your attention? Not enough interesting things going on at home to keep you entertained?" She asked in an irritated tone, Natsuki gasping in shock before glaring daggers at Yuri, Aaron seeing this as his time to intervene as he stood up from his desk, not content to sit and watch this all play out.

"Okay, that's enough from both of you! Stop fighting right now!" He began raising his voice.

"Stay out of this, Aaron!" "This doesn't involve you!" They both shouted at the same time, twice as loud as Aaron, him defeated before he could even do anything.

"How dare you!" Natsuki shouted, anger practically coursing through her veins at Yuri's ignorance. "You have no idea what my life is like outside this place! You have no idea what kind of hell I deal with every day!"

"Hey, Aaron… Maybe we should just leave them be. C'mon, let's get out of here" Sayori suggested as she gently tapped Aaron on the shoulder.

"Oh really? Do enlighten me! Come, tell me all about the struggles you face in your cushy, private bedroom! Watching television while you 'read' that harem trash you call literature!"

"Whoa! That's a low blow, Yuri! Stop!" Aaron chimed back in, Yuri glaring at him coldly.

"Really, can't we all just get along?" Sayori asked. "Why does this place have to be so toxic sometimes?"

"I said stay out of it! Both of you!" Yuri shouted again.

"It's called manga and you leave the Parfait girls out of this!" Natsuki shouted, enraged, Aaron able to see what looked to be tears forming under her eyes, no doubt due to Yuri's words bringing back… bad memories. He'd outright tell her why she was wrong if it wasn't for Natsuki commanding him to stay silent about her life at home.

"Parfait girls? Ugh! Tasteless!" Yuri spat.

"Oh, is that so?! The girl who just had a make out session in our club room before planning to sneak away for a steamy school grounds love affair is gonna call my manga tasteless?! You better look in the mirror first, hon!" Natsuki huffed angrily. "I don't even understand why you want to keep it a secret anyway! It's not like you bothered to hide it when you were sucking his face off on the rooftop!"

"FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! CAN WE PLEASE STOP TALKING ABOUT THE GOD DAMNED ROOFTOP!?" Yuri screamed at the top of her lungs, Everyone taking a step back in shock, due to the sheer volume of her voice, screeching at near ear shattering levels, Yuri looking around, only to see everyone else looking right at her, utterly shocked by the way she shouted at them, Natsuki herself taking a step back, the club room now deathly silent. "I… I'm s-sorry. I-I lost my composure. I… I need to be excused!" She said as she rushed out of the club room, moving past Aaron and Sayori on her way out, exiting the room and heading into the restroom down the hall, Aaron watching her leave, only to glare hard at Natsuki once the door shut.

"Really, Natsuki? Really?!" He asked in anger.

"What?! Don't look at me like that! So this is my fault all of a sudden?!" Natsuki asked, her hands on her hips as she pouted. "It's not even my fault! I was just trying to talk to her, but then she started bringing up my life at home! She even called my manga trash! Like, what the fuck?!"

"She only brought it up because you pried into her life. You can't do that stuff, Natsuki. It gets people angry! You have to learn respect other people's privacy!" Sayori stated, a scolding glare on her face, lighter than Aaron's, but still a glare. "She had no business bringing it up, but you had no business instigating it!"

"So either way, it's still my fault! Gee, thanks for being such supportive and loving friends, guys! I knew I could always count on you!" Natsuki said sarcastically. "You always take her side over mine…" She sighed as she turned her back.

"It's not that we're taking her side, which we aren't" Aaron sated firmly as he walked over to Natsuki, turning her around to face him, his hands on her shoulders as he looked into her eyes. "Look, I know what you go through. Yuri doesn't. But if she did know, she wouldn't have brought it up and… her life isn't really any better, you know. She's got her own problems too" He stated, Natsuki huffing at that as she turned her back to Aaron again.

"Oh yeah? What's her big problem, huh? What's her woe is me story?" She asked in a bitter tone, Aaron sighing at that.

"I can't tell you. She'd… she'd be furious if I did, just like you'd be furious with me if I told her your woe is me story" He stated, Natsuki turning her head to look at Aaron as she heard that. "She doesn't like being pitied any more than you do" He added.

"Is it… that bad?" Natsuki asked in concern.

"I can't really say. Is there some kind of rating system for this stuff? Like, a scale of one to ten?" Aaron asked. "She thinks you'd both see her as a freak if you found out. She literally compared herself to people in mental hospitals. It might not be as bad as what you've got, Natsuki, but it's still pretty bad. The only reason I'm spending so much time around her is because I'm helping her get better. Happy?" He asked, Sayori and Natsuki looking at Aaron with pure shock on their faces.

"I-I never knew she was dealing with something like that" Sayori said as she hung her head low. "I'm… I'm sorry, Aaron. I didn't know" She added, Aaron able to hear Natsuki huffing angrily, grumbling to herself.

"Fine!" She said loudly. "I'll… I'll apologize" She said through gritted teeth. "But only when she comes back!"

"Fair enough" Aaron said with a sigh.

"I didn't want to start a fight with her, you know. I was just… I just wanted to make conversation" Natsuki added.

---

"Insolent child! Egotistical narcissist! Who is she to pry into my private life?!" Yuri asked to herself as she leaned over the sink, washing her face in an attempt to calm herself down.

Her breathing was frantic. Shallow and near uncontrollable, the adrenaline and anxiety from such an argument making her heart flair and pound wildly, so much so that Yuri could feel it. Could also feel her hands twitch and shake in nervousness, them instinctively making their way to her sleeve, pulling it down… only to reveal the bandages from before, still wrapped tightly around Yuri's arms.

She sighed as she pulled her sleeve back up, turning attention away from her arms as she went back to washing her face.

She thought about doing it again… Thought about going back to cutting herself, which she often did after her and Natsuki got into their… heated debates. It was just… she got Yuri so worked up. So angry and irritated… she needed some way to let go of that anxiety. Some way of releasing her stress. Her anger. But this… this wasn't the way. She knew that now, deciding to continue pushing herself away from her habit of self harm, rather than fall back into it like she used too, constantly screaming 'It's wrong' over and over inside her head, turning it into a mantra.

Who did Natsuki think she was anyway? To pry into Yuri's life like that… did she have no right to keep her affairs to herself? Did she have no right to keep personal secrets that she wasn't ready to share with everyone else? Should she just be an open book and let everything out? Make her pages clear and visible for Natsuki to read at her leisure?

No! Obviously.

Imagine the scorn Yuri would face. All the insults, teasing and belittling Natsuki would throw at her, making fun of Yuri twenty-four-seven!

'Wow! You cut yourself for pleasure?! What a little freak you are! Go back to your mental hospital and leave us normal people alone, Freak!' She heard Natsuki's voice in her mind, Yuri imagining how the scene would play out, were she to actually reveal her secret.

Just the thought of it. The thought of being made fun of for her… condition, it infuriated her, Yuri gritting her teeth in anger as she clenched her fists, growling lowly, similar to that of a provoked animal. The anger passed eventually, Yuri sighing as she dried her face with a paper towel, throwing it into the trash before making her way out of the restroom.

"Hiya, pal!" Sayori greeted cheerfully as she leaned against the door frame, standing in the way, a smile on her face. "Going somewhere?" She asked.

"I-I was just leaving" Yuri stated awkwardly as she tried to exit, only for Sayori to stop her, bringing her hand onto Yuri's chest, gently pushing her back into the restroom, Sayori then standing up from her leaning position, walking right up to Yuri, her cheerful smile still on her face.

"Now hold up there, little missy! We need to have a very important chat first!" She stated, her tone sounding patronizingly happy and peppy, like an overenthusiastic cheerleader.

"Look, I'm sorry that I caused a scene. I didn't mean to. It just… it just happened. I learned my lesson and it won't happen again. If you really want me to, I'll go apologize to Natsuki and Aaron right now" Yuri stated as she tried to walk past Sayori, only for her to move in front, blocking the way.

"Not about that. I couldn't care less!" Sayori stated, her smile unwavering. In fact, looking closer, Yuri could see that it was getting bigger, the corners of Sayori's mouth rising extremely high, almost to a painfully fake degree, as if the smile was a forced expression. "C'mon, you know what Natsuki's like! She just gets excited easily. It's not your fault the little brat decided to throw a temper tantrum like an immature child!" She said dismissively as she walked deeper into the restroom, Yuri looking at her in shock, unable to believe Sayori would ever call Natsuki a brat. "Well… come to think of it, you did start the fight. She was just trying to talk to you, but you overreacted. So I guess it's actually you who threw a temper tantrum like an immature child!"

"Did you…? Did you just insult me?!" Yuri asked, greatly offended by being branded as immature. "How dare you!"

"Quiet!" Sayori shouted loudly, Yuri gasping in shock, her lips unconsciously sealing themselves shut, her so easily bending to Sayori's authority as soon as she raised her voice. "It's not nice to interrupt people when they're speaking, especially when they're your club president! Your superior!" She stated as she looked at Yuri from over her shoulder, her mouth wide open as she smiled, speaking through gritted teeth. "Now, getting back on topic… We need to talk about Aaron" She said, Yuri's eyes widening slightly in nervousness, her breath slightly off pace.

"A-Aaron? What about him?" She asked coyly, as if she didn't already know what this was about.

"Nothing really. It's just that… Well, I noticed you were very apprehensive when Natsuki asked about him. As soon as you realized what was happening, you went completely pale! It was actually kinda funny!" Sayori giggled. "I noticed that she said something about… you and Aaron hooking up or something? That's not true, is it?" She asked, a fearful look immediately coming onto Yuri, fearing that her cover was blown.

"Don't get me wrong, I couldn't care less when it comes to the idea of you having sex! It's just… not with Aaron" Sayori stated, her happy, cheerful smile replaced with a sharp, menacing glare, staring Yuri down intensely, causing a small sliver of fear to run down her spine. "You have to understand… We grew up together. Lived in the same house. Even shared the same bedroom for a little while. We're family. That's my brother. I'm his sister. And it's a sisters job to protect her brother. Protect him from people like you" She hissed, her glare narrowing, her eyes piercing right through Yuri.

"People like me?" She asked meekly, her tone quiet. Hushed. Scared. Cowardly.

"You know. Manipulators. Users. Abusers. Whores…" Sayori said venomously, Yuri backing away fearfully, only to end up against the wall, Sayori towering over her, her vicious, hateful glare being the only thing Yuri could see. "I know what you did, you little slut!" Sayori shouted as she tapped Yuri on the chest aggressively. "I saw you. I saw you force yourself on him! Saw you do horrible, awful, disgusting things to my childhood friend! My brother! I saw you come into his house in the middle of the night and ravage him! Rape him! Have you no shame?! No dignity?! No self respect?!"

"Wha… How? How do you know about that?!"

"Weren't you paying attention, dumb whore? I saw you. Ȉ̷͎ ̷̮̔̐s̷̾͋ͅé̸͔͋e̷͈̋͝ ̶̙̓ě̴̬v̴͚̔̈́e̵̱͓͗͛r̴̻͕͘y̵̰͊̚ṱ̴̲̆̇h̸̳̒͆i̶͓̇͊ͅṅ̷̹͎ĝ̸͔͠.̴̨̯̍͒ ̷̨̋̓H̷̠͌e̴̝̓̓a̴̰̐̚r̷͔̈̚ ̴̡͛ë̶̖́v̸͓͗̓e̷̻̾̆ŗ̴̟̓͗ȳ̵͖̼ẗ̷̜́h̵̹̀i̷͕̮͐̀n̸̮̈͝g̶̨̜̐̿.̴̠̈́̐ ̸̞̒Ǎ̴̢n̵̨̮̔̀d̷͉̀̈́͜ ̴̛̳́k̷̰̼͋͂ń̵̮̊ö̵͙̰́͆w̸̥̬͆͝ ̵̻̃̈́ḙ̶͊͊v̶̧̢̂e̷͔̚ͅr̵͙̦͛́ỳ̶̢̊t̶̺̰́̈́ḧ̶̼́ỉ̷̪n̶̘̕ǵ̸̬̯͝!̷̻͎͋̓"

"Sa-Sayori… You're scaring me!" Yuri said, downright terrified.

"I heard you throughout your entire little night of passion! Not like I had a choice! I was forced! Forced to watch your disgusting ritual of debauchery! Forced to hear you scream and shout like a harpy! So… in a way, you raped me too" Sayori stated lowly, Yuri unable to respond, practically paralyzed with fear. "But I'm not mad at that… No, what I'm really mad at, is your disgusting, pathetic justification for something so… vile. You held Aaron hostage! You forced him to have sex with you! You used your little mental problem to force my friend! My brother into dirtying himself! You held your little sickness over his head and forced him to comply!" Sayori screamed loudly. "You filthy little slut!"

"No! It's not like that!" Yuri shouted weakly as she faced Sayori's barrage of verbal abuse, long buried, repressed memories of being cruelly bullied and attacked by others rushing back into her mind, amplifying the sting of Sayori's words. Her insults. Her accusations so powerful, so angry and hate filled that someone as delicate and sensitive as Yuri couldn't withstand it. Wasn't strong enough handle it. To endure such a toxic stream of abuse from someone she used to see as a close friend. "He… He agreed to it! He wanted it!"

"No, he didn't! You did! And to get it, you made him feel bad for you. Told him your little sob story and demanded sympathy. So congratulations, you got pity fucked. That's pretty sad" Sayori said, chuckling lightly at that. "I don't know what you think you've started with him. But I know one thing, it's not a relationship, sweetheart. It's something else. It's… well, pity! Plain and simple! Aaron even said it himself! 'The only reason I'm spending so much time around her is because I'm helping her get better!' His words, not mine. Hey, don't take it personally. If you didn't want his pity, you shouldn't have used your mental problems as leverage!" Sayori added, Yuri gasping in shock as tears started to form under her eyes, her trying her hardest to hold them back. To force them in, Sayori rolling her eyes as she saw that.

"No… No. He wouldn't say that! Why would he say that?!" Yuri started sobbing, feeling her heart shatter as she processed everything, like it was a glass pane being smashed with a hammer, Yuri in too much of a shock to even comprehend the emotions surging through her.

"Yeah… He spilled as soon as I asked. Sorry, pal. I can't say I'm surprised though. I always knew there was something wrong with you. Just a gut feeling" Sayori giggled cruelly. "I have to admit, I agree with what he said about you, especially after your little outburst today. You really are a freak and you should be locked away in some mental hospital. You'd be better off there, you man-stealing, manipulating little whore!" She shouted suddenly as she grabbed Yuri by the collar of her blazer, only to push her against the wall, practically slamming her, Yuri screaming as her back pains flared up, causing a painful ache as she collapsed to the floor, falling to her knees as she began weeping, her tears coming down like a waterfall. "What a crybaby" Sayori scoffed. "I hardly laid a finger you and you're already breaking out in tears. Pathetic" She said as she turned around, walking out of the restroom, leaving Yuri to wallow in her pain, tears just forcing themselves out, Yuri sobbing and crying as hard as possible as she rocked herself back and forth, her knees in her chest as she curled into a little ball.

She just… She just broke right then and there, as if her mind just shut itself down, Yuri staying in the girls restroom for who knew how long, her crying uninterrupted, the tears falling in droves as she just… broke.

What happened… All that horrid abuse that was forced her way, it brought her back. Brought her back to a dark place she never wanted to revisit. Sent her falling back down into a spiral of pain, suffering and misery. A spiral she was all too familiar with, thinking she'd escaped it long ago, having been the victim of bullying and abuse by others before, as previously mentioned.

But… it was never as bad as this. Never this horrible. Never this hurtful. Never this painful. Never this crippling, Sayori's wounds stinging deeper than anything Yuri had ever faced in her life, her pain and hurt feeling similar to the sensation of salt being poured on an open wound. A bleeding gash.

The crying ceased eventually, Yuri's breathing growing progressively steadier, calmer as time passed, Yuri using the sleeve of her blazer to wipe the tears under her eyes, only to then see the bandages on her arm again, her attention focused on them as she rolled down both her sleeves, her arms held in front of her face as she gazed at the bandages.

Pity, Sayori said. That was the only reason Aaron 'loved' her? The only reason he agreed to spend the night with her? To make love to her? To tend to her wounds, clean them and bandage them? To hold her close and tell her everything would be alright? To then take her to his room and share his bed with her? All because he pitied her?

How far does one go on pity and sympathy alone? How drastic are one's actions when motivated solely by these two feelings? How far does their kindness stretch? How willing are they to do right by their fellow man?

What is pity?

Pity is giving pocket change to the homeless man on the street. The one dressed in ragged clothes, sleeping on the bench in the park. Pity is sparing a small insect trapped in your house, capturing it and returning it to the outside, rather than mercilessly squishing it with your shoe. Pity is when you are playing against someone competitively, yet you allow them the victory, simply because you know they would be outmatched against someone of your caliber.

Is it really such a bad thing? Being pitied?

What is sympathy?

Sympathy is taking time out of your busy day to focus on and help others who have had it far worse than you. Sympathy is offering to take someone out to eat when you see them hungry. Sympathy is coming to someone trapped in a saddened, depressed state and offering to help them overcome it.

Is it really so bad? Being sympathized with?

Pity. Sympathy. What are these if not expressions of love and care? Expressions of compassion. Expressions of camaraderie. Friendship. A force that drives us to do good. To be kind and merciful to one another. Even if being pitied was a negative thing, can anyone really say that Aaron pitied Yuri? Can anyone really make that claim other than him?

What would happen if someone else saw the marks on Yuri's arms? Would they react the same way, based solely on pity? Would they comfort and care for her, rather than chastise and scold her? Would they clean and bandage her, rather than leave her wounds to fester and rot?

No. No, they would not.

But Aaron? He was different. He went where others were too fearful to go. He helped her. He healed her. When he saw the wounds, he kept his face straight, whereas others would have theirs twisted with disgust. When he spoke, he did so kindheartedly, understandingly, trying to reason and talk to Yuri, whereas others would shout, scold and chastise her.

He knew what Yuri was now. Knew how much of a mess she was. How damaged and broken she was. Others would have turned her away, but he didn't. He took her. He held her. He gave her a chance. Not because he pitied her. Not because he sympathized with her. Not because he felt obligated. Not because he felt forced. He did this because he wanted to. And if anyone said anything different… If anyone tried to plant even the smallest seed of doubt. If anyone tried to pull him away from her… all Yuri had to do was roll up her sleeves and look at her arms.

"Love, forgive me. My mind was… overwhelmed in that moment. I was not thinking clearly. It won't happen again, I promise" She said as she gazed at her bandaged arms, sighing as she finally stood up from the bathroom floor, only to wince in pain as she grabbed her back, feeling the painful ache brought on from her collision with the wall. "Yeah… That's going to hurt for awhile…" She said in a pained whisper as she brought her hand to her back, pressing down hardly, gritting her teeth as she attempted to adjust her spine, to the point where she would not have to hunch her back to circumvent the pain.

"Yuri? Are you in here?" Natsuki asked as she walked into the girls restroom, her hands on her hips as usual, Yuri gasping quietly as she turned her back, preventing Natsuki from seeing her face. "There you are! What are you still doing in here? You feeling alright?" Natsuki asked, her tone still sounding somewhat irritated, yet slightly concerned.

"I'm… I'm fine. What do you want?" Yuri asked, refusing to look at Natsuki. It wasn't due to malice, as you'd probably believe. It was just… she didn't want Natsuki to see her like this. Didn't want her to see her in her current state, saddened and in pain.

"Huffy, aren't we?" Natsuki pouted, crossing her arms. "Well, if you must know, I've decided to be the bigger person and apologize for my actions. It wasn't nice for me to dig into you like that. I should've… I should have been more respectful of your privacy. I'm sorry" She apologized, Yuri sighing again as she looked into the mirror in the girls restroom, able to see Natsuki's reflection, speaking to it rather than her.

"It's alright. I forgive you" She said, her back still turned from Natsuki, Yuri able to see the glare that suddenly came onto her reflection in the mirror.

"You forgive me? That's it? There's nothing else you want to say me?" She asked.

"Um… No…" Yuri stated, Natsuki clenching her fists in anger.

"I worked up the guts to face you. To apologize for something I didn't even start and all you can say is 'I forgive you?' Without even looking me in the face?!" She shouted as she grabbed Yuri by the shoulder, forcefully turning her around, Only to back away slightly once she saw the dried tears on her cheeks, Natsuki's glare instantly vanishing, replaced with a look of concern. "Your… Your face… Have you been crying?" She asked, feeling a small pang of guilt rise inside her, thinking herself to be the reason why Yuri was so upset.

"I… I'm sorry. I didn't want you to see me like this" Yuri said, her head hung low, looking down at the ground as her hair hid her face. "I know what you're thinking. No, this isn't your fault. It's… something else. I just… Today hasn't been a very good day for me. I apologize"

"H-Hey, don't worry about it! Bad days just… happen. I understand" Natsuki said in a soft, calm tone, a small, sympathetic smile on her face. "I'm sorry for shouting at you like that. I didn't know" She stated. "Do you wanna talk about it? I'm not very good at this 'shoulder-to-cry-on' stuff but…"

"That's very kind of you" Yuri interrupted, sniffling slightly. "But it won't be needed. I'll be okay. I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to be leaving school a little earlier than usual. I'm feeling… very exhausted" She stated.

"Y-Yeah! Sure! I understand! You go home, get some rest and all that" Natsuki said as she stepped out of the way, allowing Yuri to pass by. "Hey, um… we're still friends, right?" Natsuki asked, Yuri looking at her from over her shoulder, a small, sad smile on her face.

"I hope so…" She said as she exited the restroom, leaving Natsuki inside, alone…

"Yeah… I hope so too" She said to herself before following Yuri out, the two exiting the restroom, only to find Aaron patiently waiting outside, Yuri's face brightening somewhat after seeing him, whereas his face sank slightly at the sight of her, worry and concern on it.

"Whoa. Are you okay? Is something wrong? Have you been crying?" He asked as he walked up to Yuri, only for her to smile sadly at him.

"I'm fine, Love. Or at least I will be…" She stated.

"Love?" Natsuki asked under her breath, catching that.

"I'm just… I'm not feeling very well. I'm going home a little earlier than usual. I'm sorry" Yuri stated as she looked away. "I'm afraid I'll also have to take a rain check on our… plans for later. I'm suddenly in no mood to go anywhere. Again, I'm sorry"

"Don't apologize. It's okay" Aaron said. "Do you um… want me to walk you home?" He asked, Yuri shaking her head at that.

"No no. I should be fine. You stay here with the club. Everything's fine, I swear" She claimed, a worried look on her face as she put her hands to her chest.

She… She wanted to tell Aaron about what happened. Wanted to tell him all about what Sayori had said and done to her. How she called her a whore. A slut. How she demeaned and insulted her. How she attacked her, but… She knew what would happen were she to tell him. He'd get angry, incredibly so once he heard that Sayori put her hands on Yuri. He'd storm off immediately to confront her, anger clear on his face.

Imagine how long it would take for a fight between Aaron and Sayori to break out. A screaming match in the middle of school. A yelling fest that would only divide and hurt the club… and possibly destroy the bond between a brother and sister, which would only agitate Sayori even further.

No… no good could come from that. Best to forget about it. Best to keep it to herself.

"Please? Let me come with you. If something's bothering you, I wanna help" Aaron said, refusing to take no for an answer, Yuri sighing at that.

"Well… If you insist. You can walk me home" She said, giving permission, a smile coming onto Aaron's face.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Natsuki asked in concern.

"Yes. I'll be fine. Don't worry about me. You go back to the club" Yuri suggested.

"Oh! That reminds me!" Aaron said suddenly. "Natsuki, I think I saw Sayori move your box set again! I told her not to, but she just ignored me. She put it on the really high shelf. You know, the one you can't reach" Aaron said, Natsuki huffing at that, annoyed that Sayori had yet again ignored her request to have her manga left untouched.

"Again?!" She shouted. "I keep telling her to leave it alone!" She added, stomping loudly as she made her way back to the club room, leaving Aaron and Yuri to quietly exit the school.

"Hey, you two! Where do you think you're going? Club's not over yet, sillies!" Sayori shouted cheerfully from behind, a worried look coming onto Yuri's face as she and Aaron turned around, seeing her behind them, Yuri scooting closer to Aaron, as if she were seeking protection. "I haven't even given out the assignments today!" Sayori added.

"Oh. Sorry about that, Sayori. It's just that… Yuri's not feeling too good right now. I'm just making sure she gets home safe. That's all" Aaron stated calmly.

"Not feeling good? Aww, you poor thing! What's wrong?!" She asked coyly, a poorly imitated look of concern on her face, Yuri looking away fearfully, not making eye contact. "Hey, don't turn away! Talk to me! If something's wrong, I need to know!"

"If she doesn't want to tell you, she doesn't want to tell you" Aaron said defensibly.

"I… I'm just tired. Long day. You understand" Yuri said meekly, her face still hidden from Sayori.

"I'm just taking her home. That's all" Aaron stated.

"But you're gonna come back after, right?" Sayori asked with a smile.

"Umm… No. Why would I? Club will be over by the time I get there. There's no reason to come back" Aaron said, Sayori's smile vanishing, a somewhat annoyed look taking its place.

"But if you don't come back, how are we gonna walk home together?" She asked, Aaron rolling his eyes at that.

"Seriously? That's what you're worried about? Whether we'll be able to walk home together or not? In case you didn't notice, I literally just found your vice president crying as she left the bathroom! I think that's a little more important than walking home together!"

"Well… yeah! It is, but…"

"Sayori… we talked about this" Aaron reminded, a slight look of disapproval on his face.

"I know we did…" Sayori sighed. "You said she wasn't going to get in the way, Aaron. You promised me"

"She's not getting in the way. She just… She just needs a little more attention than you do right now" Aaron stated. "I'm sorry if other people's emotional states are that big of an inconvenience for you!" He added, A hurt look coming to Sayori's face.

"I-It's not that! It's just…"

"I'm sorry, but we've gotta go. C'mon, Yuri" Aaron said as he held Yuri's hand, the two of them walking out through the front doors, Sayori standing still, left speechless as she watched them leave school grounds, her jaw slacked, hung open in complete shock.

"You promised…" She said as her head hung low, her fists clenching tightly, her nails digging into her palms as she gritted her teeth. "You promised!" She shouted as she punched one of the lockers, a loud crash echoing through the empty school halls, a permanent dent now made in some poor student's locker as Sayori pulled her fist back, looking at her knuckles, seeing the skin over them going red. Sore.

Error: An exception has occurred.

File: 01010011 01100001 01111001 01101111 01110010 01101001 00101110 01100011 01101000 01110010 is unreadable. The file may be damaged or corrupt. Please reinstall the game.

Error code: SW4gbXkgaGFuZCwgaXMgYSBwZW4gdGhhdCdsbCB3cml0ZSBhIHBvZW0gb2YgbWUgYW5kIHlvdS4uLg==

Rebooting…

Loading Save File…

---

"Touching my stuff without permission! Who does she think she is?!" Natsuki huffed in irritation as she walked into the club room, her hands on her sides and a pout on her face as she looked around, finding the room empty, the light of the setting sun peering in through the windows, giving the room a warm, orange tint.

Natsuki huffed to herself as she walked past the empty desks, making her way to the small storage closet in the corner of the room, Natsuki grabbing the small step ladder that leaned against the wall, unfolding it before opening the closet door.

Honestly, the nerve of her. Who did Sayori think she was to move around, let alone touch Natsuki's stuff without permission? President? Okay, yeah. She may have been the president of the literature club. But last time Natsuki checked, Sayori wasn't the president of her stuff! That was private property! And while yes, it might not be the best idea to stash it all away in the storage closet of some random classroom, it wasn't like Natsuki had anywhere else to put it. Wasn't like she could actually bring it home with her either.

She wanted to though. Would have loved to give her beloved box set its own place of honor in her room, proudly displayed and shown off. Only… well, her father.

It was obvious at this point that he didn't respect privacy. And he's also… well, a little narrow minded when it came to certain subjects, especially when it came to Natsuki. Her likes and hobbies.

If he saw that stuff. If he found her box set and looked trough it, he… he wouldn't understand. He just wouldn't. Than again, when has he ever bothered to understand anything other than himself?

Natsuki sighed as she shook those thoughts out of her head, trying to push them out of her mind as she regained her focus, opening the closet door.

She was somewhat surprised to find that Aaron was wrong, Natsuki seeing that her box set hadn't been moved at all. Was sitting right where she left it with all issues perfectly in their place, sorted numerically.

Her eyes turned away from the box set when she noticed what was placed next to it, a small, brown paper bag Natsuki had never seen before, her reaching up to grab it and take it out, opening it to find a submarine sandwich inside! A stack of various cold cut meats, cheeses and lettuce in between two finely cut pieces of Italian bread, kept fresh and preserved by plastic wrap, Natsuki's stomach growling slightly at the sight of such a sandwich.

She was rather hungry, slightly less so than usual, but still hungry, having no choice but to skip lunch, obviously due to her lack of funds, leaving her unable to afford anything the cafeteria had to offer.

Who left this here? Was it someone's lunch? Something someone had stored away for later yet forgot? Possibly. Well, it'd be a shame to leave such a good looking sub to rot away, Natsuki grinning in anticipation as she unwrapped the plastic wrap, only to find a small sticky note on the other side of the sandwich.

---

Sorry for lying. Let me make it up to you.

Enjoy.

-Aaron.

---

"So this is home, huh?"

"Yes. Apartment complex, sweet apartment complex" Yuri said with an exhausted sigh as she stood in the elevator, Aaron by her side as they ascended up the building, the old elevator ringing as it reached the fourteenth floor, the doors opening as Yuri took Aaron's hand into her own, leading him through the hallway until they came upon door number eleven. Home. "Wait here for a moment. I need to check something" Yuri stated as she unlocked the door, opening it slightly to peek her head through. "Yuna? Yuki? Are you home?" She asked as she peeked her head into the apartment, only to hear no response, Yuri breathing a sigh of relief. "Alright. It's safe" She stated as she opened the door fully, walking inside, her hand motioning for Aaron to follow. "Come in. Make yourself at home" She stated.

"Nice place" Aaron complemented as he looked around, taking in all the little sights of the small apartment. All the little details.

A small living area, couch, chairs, coffee table and a television in the front rightmost corner of the room, literally right next to the door. A small kitchenette behind it, the lack of any actual tables leaving Aaron to think most of the family's eating was done on the couch. To the left of the kitchenette was a small hallway, most likely where the bedrooms were.

"Thank you" Yuri said as she walked deeper inside. "I know it's a little crowded and sometimes it is rather… claustrophobic, but…"

"Hey" Aaron interrupted, Yuri feeling his hand grip her shoulder. "I like it. It's cozy" He smiled, Yuri blushing slightly, feeling a warm yet odd sensation within her as she heard Aaron complement her home. "So, it's just you and your sisters, right?" He asked.

"Mhm. It's been that way for awhile since mother and father died. We've been on our own ever since. We don't mind the small space. We got used to it" Yuri stated as she walked into the kitchenette, noticing a small piece of paper tapped to the fridge. A note.

---

Working overtime. Won't be home till late. Don't worry about Yuki, she's spending the night with a friend.

---

It read, Yuri somewhat relieved to know that she had the whole apartment to herself, her sisters too occupied in their own business to interfere with hers, especially now when she had a very special guest present.

"So um… what now?" Aaron asked.

"Now… I feel like I need a shower, a hot cup of tea and…"

"And a few hours of cuddling?" He asked as he crept up from behind, Yuri giggling lightly as she felt him grab her by the waist. "Maybe we can skip the shower and tea? Just get straight to the good stuff? I bet your bed's incredibly comfortable" He added, Yuri smiling lightly a she turned around, bringing her face to his before gently pecking him on the lips.

"Oh, it is. Not as comfy as yours, but still rather comfortable" Yuri stated, a grin coming to Aaron's face. "And… we do have the apartment all to ourselves. It would be nice to just fall into bed after such an… intense day. Just plop down and fall asleep together" She grinned back.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Aaron asked, Yuri chuckling as she gently pushed him away.

"Patience, Love. It's a virtue" She said as she gently pushed him away.

"You tease" Aaron chuckled. "Alright. Do what you have to do. I'll be patient" He added as he took a seat on the couch, Yuri smiling at him before making her way to the bathroom, Aaron remaining on the couch, patiently waiting for Yuri to finish her shower, the sound of the running water audible even from here. Place must have had thin walls.

Yuri soon returned to the living room, her shower being relatively short, Aaron turning around to see her standing in the hallway, a towel wrapped tightly around her torso, her hair still damp as small drops of water fell from her bangs. She didn't have a set of clothes in her hands, dirty or clean. But rather, she had a small first aid kit, Aaron wondering why she'd need one until he looked at her arms, noticing that the bandages had been removed.

The wounds hadn't exactly healed, per say. While yes, they were all sealed and were no longer bleeding, Yuri's arms still looked downright sickening, scabs, black and blue marks littering every inch from the elbow down.

"I'm sorry" She apologized. "I had to take them off when I got in the shower. They needed to be changed anyway. Could you… put the new ones on for me?"

"You can't do it yourself?" Aaron asked, Yuri hanging her head down at that, embarrassment on her face.

"I'm… I'm scared" She admitted. "The marks. I'm afraid looking at them might trigger a relapse or something. I know that sounds stupid but… It's happened before" She stated as she took a seat next to Aaron on the couch. "Please?" She asked as she handed him the first aid kit.

"Sure" Aaron said with a smile, opening the kit and applying a fresh, new set of bandages, wrapping them tightly around Yuri's arms, her smiling as she looked at them, admiring Aaron's handiwork. She then dug deeper into the first aid kit, pulling out a small tube of ointment and handing it to Aaron, seeing the confused look on his face.

"It's for my back" She stated as she turned around, removing her towel and showing her bare back to Aaron. "I have… growth pains. The ointment's supposed to help soothe them, but I always have trouble applying it on my own. Could you do it for me?" Yuri asked, looking at Aaron from over her shoulder.

"Sure. No problem" He agreed as he opened the tube, rubbing the ointment around in his hands before placing them on Yuri's back, hearing her gasp a little at the sudden stinging brought on by the ointment's initial application, as well as having someone else's hands on her back, a particularly sensitive spot of her body, Aaron then rubbing Yuri's back gently, his hands running up and down, almost massaging her as he tried to spread the ointment, a small moan escaping Yuri as the initial sting passed, a soothing sensation now in its place.

"Oh, that feels good…" She moaned again, enjoying the feeling of Aaron's hands on her back as he continued to apply the ointment.

"So, what brings the back pains on?" Aaron asked, mainly as a way to start conversation, as opposed to just sitting there in silence as he awkwardly rubbed a girl's back.

"My spine is bent" Yuri explained with a sigh. "It's because my ches… I mean, it's because of my reading posture. I… I hunch when I read" She claimed, Aaron looking at her oddly. "What? That's why" She added.

"You're still a horrible liar" Aaron said as he continued rubbing, starting to get more comfortable with the idea of his hands on Yuri's back, now somewhat digging into it gently, less focused on applying the ointment and more focused on massaging her. "I can tell from your face. The way it kinda crumples up a little bit and you try to look away. It's really cute" He added, Yuri moaning slightly as she felt him dig into her back, focusing on her spine, the sensation being very pleasurable for her as she started leaning back, Aaron's hands now supporting her weight as he continued. "Come on, don't be embarrassed. You can tell me. I won't make fun" He whispered.

"My breasts are too big. My back can't support the weight properly" She admitted, a slight blush on her face, Aaron only smiling as he kept massaging.

"See? That wasn't so hard, was it?" He asked with a smile. "And look, no laughing. No name calling. No poking fun. You can talk to me about this kinda stuff, Yuri. I'll understand" He stated. "So… why were you crying when you came out of the bathroom at school?" He asked, Yuri sighing as her mind flashed back to that moment, replaying everything that happened scene by scene, Sayori's hateful, jealous rant echoing loudly within, the memory sending a small chill down Yuri's spine.

"I can't tell you…" She stated.

She wanted to though. She wanted to come clean and tell Aaron everything. Tell him all about the disgusting abuse Sayori spat at her. All the awful things she was called. How Sayori so forcefully threw her into a wall, causing her back pains to flair up tremendously so, making her making her break down and cry for no reason, only to then play coy and lie right in front of her. Yuri wanted to tell him everything. Wanted to recount every detail as accurately as possible… But she knew that would be wrong.

Aaron cares about Sayori just as much, if not more that he does for Yuri. He wouldn't believe she'd be capable of something so awful unless he saw it with his own eyes. And even if he did believe her, what good would it do? All Yuri would be doing is driving a wedge between two childhood friends. A brother and sister.

Is that really what she wanted? To sow even more animosity into an already toxic and harmful atmosphere? To turn family against one another? To villainize Aaron's childhood friend?

"I'm sorry. I just… Don't worry about it. It's nothing" Yuri said, dismissing it, Aaron glaring as he shook his head, moving his hands off of Yuri's back, her turning to face him.

"I know something happened in there. Tell me. Please. Did somebody hurt you?" He asked, Yuri sighing again, knowing that she'd be unable to sneak a lie past Aaron. She knew remaining silent wouldn't get her anywhere either, predicting that Aaron would only seek other means of getting answers. Asking Natsuki or even Sayori.

She was fearful of what Sayori's version of the encounter might sound like. For all Yuri knew, she could just throw outright lies at Aaron in an attempt to sabotage his relationship.

"Sayori attacked me…" She stated as she hung her head low, Aaron standing up from the couch in shock, a look of complete disbelief on his face.

"Wh-What?! She attacked you? No way! Sayori'd… She'd never… You're not lying, are you?" He asked, Yuri remaining silent as she looked up at him, seeing his eyes move up and down rapidly, Aaron reading her face intensely, searching for any sign that Yuri was wrong. He didn't find one… "Tell me everything. The full story. No detail spared. Now" He demanded, a serious look on his face as he sat back down, Yuri recounting the entire thing in great detail, none spared, as Aaron requested.

The glare on his face only got narrower as Yuri told him everything, Aaron outright disgusted by what he'd heard. Utterly revolted. In complete disbelief that Sayori could ever say or do anything like that, to her own club members nonetheless.

"And then… And then she said I was a freak and I belonged in a mental hospital. She said I'd be better off there. Then she call me a… a man-stealing whore. Grabbed me by my uniform and threw me against the wall. I fell to my knees and started crying… She just left" Yuri finished, Aaron standing up from the couch again, his hand holding his forehead as he took all of it in. Processed what Yuri had said.

"Sayori… What the hell?" He asked to himself, shaking his head. "I'm… I'm sorry. I knew something was wrong. She just seemed so… off today. Yuri, whatever she said about me is one hundred percent wrong! I'm not spending time with you just because of your mental problems. I'm not a rape victim! You're not a rapist! You're not a whore! You're not a freak who belongs in a mental hospital and I do not pity you!" He stated seriously, Yuri raising her head to look at him.

"Thank you… I… I'm sorry"

"For what?" Aaron asked.

"For not telling you sooner. I should have told you everything the moment you found me. I just… I didn't want to start a fight between you two. I know how much you care about her"

"It doesn't matter how much I care about her. What she did to you, that's unacceptable! I won't stand by and let her hurl abuse at you! At anybody!" He stated, anger heard in his voice as Yuri hung her head down low.

"I was afraid of this. Now that I've told you, you hate her. You're going to fight with her. She'll find out I told you, and then what happens? I become her personal punching bag! I've been bullied before, Aaron. I know how it works" Yuri stated, Aaron shaking his head at her. "It's better if I just stay out of her way. She'll stop eventually. They all do" she added.

"No! We're ending this now. I'm going have a serious talk with her. We're both going to have a serious talk with her! Together! I won't let her get away with attacking you like that! Girlfriend or not, the last thing I want for the club, is having the president abuse us!" Aaron stated as Yuri stood up from the couch, taking her hand into his.

"Thank you, Love" She said as she planted a small kiss on his lips, Aaron kissing back. "Now, let's move on from this. Let's forget about this awful day and just… enjoy each others company. If I recall correctly, a certain someone was very enthusiastic about wanting to cuddle up for a little while. Do you still want to?" Yuri asked, a small smile coming onto her face, Aaron mimicking it.

"That'd be nice" He said.

"Then come, Love. Follow…" Yuri said as she dragged Aaron into the small hallway, opening the first door to the right, Yuri's bedroom, her giggling softly as she pulled Aaron inside. "And here we are!" She said in a singsong tone, Aaron looking around the room, taking in the various details.

The light shade of purple on the walls. The matching silken curtains covering the windows, thin enough for the light to pass through, taking on a light purple tint.

The room was rather clean. Very tidy and organized, the scent of jasmine in the air, Aaron noticing the very same aromatherapy dispenser from the poetry night at the festival on Yuri's desk, occasionally spraying out a small mist.

The desk itself was rather bare, a small yet organized tower of hardcover books on the side. A thin notebook laptop on the other. In the center of the desk, a rather odd looking book sat, Aaron glancing at the cover of the heavy tome, seeing a large, ominous looking eye staring right back at him. It was just a simple picture, yes. But it unnerved him somewhat. It was just… the way it looked at him, piercingly so. It made him uncomfortable. Somewhat anxious, Aaron looking away from it, hoping to focus on something else.

Next to the desk was a moderately sized bookshelf, filled to the brim with reading material. Days of literature. And these weren't small little hour reads either. No, these were full on novels. Epics. Volumes. All most likely being a hundred pages or more! There was also a small sitting area set up next to the bookshelf. Two rather comfy looking chairs and a coffee table in the very corner of the room, most likely where Yuri sat while reading.

It was worth mentioning that the room lacked a television, Yuri most likely being disinterested in the thought of watching TV instead of reading books.

At the very end of the room, next to the large queen sized mattress, was a simple nightstand, a display case placed on it, Aaron walking up to it to see a display of knives, him gulping at the sight of them.

Beautifully crafted, don't get him wrong. Many of them being very intricately made. Ornate and expensive looking. And… sharp. Or at least Aaron assumed they were, him unable to see the actual blades, due to them being concealed in their sheaths.

"Is something wrong, Love?" Yuri asked as she walked up to Aaron, only to see what he was looking at. "Oh… those…" Yuri said as she looked down at her knife collection, a small smile lingering on her face as she gently grabbed Aaron by the chin, turning his head to look at her. "Don't worry, Love. I'm okay. I haven't touched them in a long while. They've stood in that case ever since you helped me. I mean, I chance glances at them once and awhile but… I'm fine" She stated with a smile.

"I know you are. I just… It worries me" Aaron stated, concern in his voice, Yuri walking away, making her way to her closet on the other side of the room, only to pull out a small empty pillowcase, Yuri using it to cover the case of knives, hiding it from sight.

"Does it worry you now?" She asked.

"No. Not anymore" Aaron smiled. "So uh… before we start cuddling, you gonna put some clothes on?" Aaron asked, Yuri looking down at her body, only to realize she was naked the entire time, her face red with embarrassment as she covered herself, having forgotten the towel she left on the living room couch.

"Sorry about that. I'll just… put something light on" She said, her tone all flustered as she walked back to her closet, pulling out a small, light blue nightgown, Aaron respectfully covering his eyes as Yuri put it on. "There. Better" She stated, Aaron now uncovering his eyes. "Hmm… a little smaller than I remember it being. It's been awhile since I've worn this one. The arms… I couldn't exactly walk into the kitchen for breakfast with them exposed like this" She stated.

"I think you look beautiful" Aaron complemented as he sat on the bed, his hands moving to unbutton his blazer, taking it off and dropping it on the ground. "So, cuddles?" He asked as he laid down on Yuri's bed.

"Cuddles" Yuri said eagerly as she joined him, laying down on top of him, her head nuzzling itself into Aaron's neck as she wrapped her arms around him, him doing the same to her, their legs intertwining, Yuri yawning tiredly as she closed her eyes. "This feels so nice… You feel so nice…" She said tiredly.

"Yeah… It hasn't been the same ever since that night. You know, sleeping by ourselves. You just feel like something's…"

"Missing?" Yuri asked, finishing Aaron's sentence.

"Yeah. Missing" Aaron yawned, laying his head down on Yuri's pillows as she laid hers on his chest, feeling Aaron's hand gently stroke her back, the other running up and down one of her thighs as she laid on top of him.

The two just laid there. Said nothing. Did nothing. Just laid down comfortably on the large bed, holding each other close before eventually falling asleep.

"I love you" Yuri said quietly before drifting off.

"I love you too" Aaron said as he held her, continuing to gently stroke her back. "I don't exactly know what's happening between you and Sayori. If it's just some immature jealousy thing or… something else. Something worse. Whatever it is, I'm not going to stand by and let you get hurt like that again. I'll stop it. I promise"